Rachael Ray Pesto Pasta Recipes

TRUE LIGURIAN PESTO WITH SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Bring a pot of water to boil, season it liberally with sea salt. Fill a large bowl with ice water.
• Add the basil to the boiling water for 30 seconds or so and transfer to the ice bath. Drain and dry the basil in a salad spinner or on clean kitchen towels.
• Place the EVOO in the food processor and add the basil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino-Romano, pine nuts, lemon juice, garlic and some salt and pepper. Pulse process into a fine sauce. Store in an airtight container. Freeze or refrigerate to store for a make-ahead meal. Bring to room temperature to prepare.
• To serve, bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt the water and cook the pasta to al dente. Reserve a cup of the salty cooking water just before draining the pasta.
• Place the pesto in serving bowl. Add the starchy water and stir to combine, then add the pasta and toss 1 to 2 minutes to coat evenly. Adjust the seasoning and serve.

CILANTRO PESTO PASTA

Steps:

• Place first 8 ingredients in food processor or blender and blend until smooth, then add the pasta water. Toss with hot pasta, adjust seasonings, then serve immediately.

RACH'S CLASSIC PESTO SAUCE IS THE ONE TO TURN TO AGAIN + AGAIN

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse the cheese into coarse sand
• Transfer to a bowl
• Add nuts, garlic, zest of 1 lemon and salt to a food processor and pulse into a fairly smooth paste
• Add cheese to nut paste and add about 3 tablespoons EVOO; process until smooth
• Pulse process basil into sauce until fairly smooth, adding juice of 1 lemon and remaining EVOO

PASTA SALAD WITH LEMON-PESTO DRESSING

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.
• Place pesto, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, tomatoes, scallions and cheese in a large bowl.
• Cook pasta to al dente then cold shock it and chill it down under cold running water. Drain well. Add to mixing bowl. Combine salad and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

PASTA PUTTANESCA

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add oil, garlic, anchovies, and crushed pepper. Saute mixture until anchovies melt into oil and completely dissolve and garlic is tender, about 3 minutes: your kitchen never smelled so good! Add olives, capers, tomatoes, black pepper, and parsley. Bring sauce to a bubble, reduce heat, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes.
• Toss sauce with cooked pasta. Pass bread and cheese at the table and serve with Bitter Greens Salad.
• Combine greens in a salad bowl. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the bowl. Drizzle salad liberally with extra virgin olive oil. Toss salad and season salad with salt and pepper. Arrange salad on plates. Garnish plates with black olives, if using.

LINGUINI WITH KALE PESTO

Steps:

• Place a large pot of water on to boil for the linguini.
• Place the pine nuts, garlic, lemon zest and juice in a food processor and pulse to finely chop. Add the kale in stages and pulse to finely chop. Add some salt, pepper and a few grates of nutmeg. Stream in the EVOO until a thick sauce forms. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the Pecorino.
• Salt the water and cook the pasta to al dente. Add 1 cup starchy pasta water to the pesto just before draining the pasta. Toss the linguini with the pesto to coat, 1 to 2 minutes. Adjust the seasoning and serve with extra cheese to pass at the table.
• Get Rachael's shopping list for this episode's recipes here [tk link].

PEASANT PASTA

Steps:

• Heat a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan. Add sausage meat. Crumble sausage meat as it browns. Add chopped garlic to the pan. When all of the crumbles have browned evenly, deglaze the pan drippings using chicken or vegetable broth. Stir in crushed tomatoes and bring the sauce up to a bubble, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir cream into your sauce, this will blush the color and cut the acidity of the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir peas and basil into your sauce to combine. Toss hot drained penne rigate in pan with the sauce, then transfer pasta to serving bowl.

CREAMY RAMP PESTO PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta. Set aside an ice-water bath in a medium bowl.
• Blanch the ramp leaves in boiling water for 15 seconds. Remove with a spider or slotted spoon and immediately plunge them into the ice bath. Drain the leaves and dry on a kitchen towel. Tops should be bright and vibrant green in color.
• Add the blanched leaves to a food processor with 1/4 of the ramp bulbs and stems, plus the lemon zest and juice, the pistachios and the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Pulse to finely chop, and stream in the olive oil until the pesto comes together into a thick sauce. Taste and, if desired, add more bulbs and stems, a few at a time, then add salt to taste and pulse to combine. (Reserve the remaining bulbs and stems for use in dressings, sautéed vegetable dishes or eggs.)
• Place the ricotta or mascarpone in large mixing bowl.
• Salt the pasta water and cook pasta about 1 minute less than package directions for al dente. Just before draining, remove 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water and add to the ricotta or mascarpone to soften and loosen the cheese. Add the ramp pesto and stir to combine. Drain pasta, add to sauce and toss to coat. Transfer pasta to a serving dish or individual bowls, and top with a generous amount of pink peppercorn.